If I told you by making one simple tweak in your life, you could see the following:
[+] Quicker strength gains - your KBs start feeling lighter and you’re lifting heavier bells
[+] Greater muscle mass - tighter shirt sleeves and stronger shoulders
[+] Decreased body fat - looser pants
[+] read more Higher energy - say goodbye to the 2pm crash and the need for coffee or an energy drink
[+] Reduced stress, anxiety, and even negative thoughts - and increased peace
[+] Reduced hunger - and reduced desire for junk food and other cravings
[+] Reduced decision fatigue and feeling overwhelmed and greater calm, collected, coolheadedness
Would you make it ?
And no, it’s not taking the latest “magic supplement.”
And no, it doesn’t cost you an arm and a leg.
In fact, financially, it costs you zero.
What is this Deep Magic?
SLEEP.
Now before you brush me off and say you don’t need more sleep, here’s what the research says happens to you when you get less than 7 hours of sleep each night.
Whether you know it or not, like it or not, or agree with it or not, you experience the following:
1- Diminished cognitive function (including memory problems, decreased concentration, and impaired decision-making).
2- Metabolic dysregulation (including insulin resistance and elevated risk of type 2 diabetes)
3- Weakened immune function (increasing susceptibility to infections).
4- Mental health issues (including increased risk of depression and anxiety)
5- Hormonal disruption:
Poor sleep changes key hormones involved in appetite regulation, particularly raising ghrelin (hunger hormone) and decreasing leptin (satiety hormone).6- Insulin resistance:
Sleep loss impairs insulin sensitivity, supporting fat storage, especially visceral fat.7- Elevated caloric intake:
Sleep-deprived individuals tend to consume higher calories, particularly from high-carbohydrate and high-fat foods.8- Reduced energy expenditure:
Sleep loss may diminish physical activity and non-exercise activity thermogenesis.9- Reduced protein synthesis:
Sleep deprivation weakens the body's ability to create and rebuild muscle tissue.10- Increased cortisol:
Poor sleep boosts stress hormone levels, which can trigger muscle catabolism (breakdown).11- Decreased testosterone:
Sleep loss lowers testosterone levels in men, compromising muscle maintenance and growth.12- Hampered recovery:
Insufficient sleep hampers post-exercise recovery and adaptation.So, as you can notice, while your workouts are crucial to trigger the change you want…
Without enough sleep, you won’t entirely see those changes because you can’t recover properly.
How much sleep do you actually need?
According to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and Sleep Research Society:
7 to 9 hours a night.
Keep in mind :
It’s not how intense or how frequently you workout that drives results. It’s how well you recuperate from those workouts that delivers results.That’s why I routinely recommend the majority of guys exercise 3 days a week, for 20 to 30 minutes a day.
At most, 3 days a week for up to 60 minutes if your recovery is optimal and you’re getting 7-9 hours of sleep each night.
And focus on their sleep in the meantime.
If you’re not sure what the best kettlebell workout plans are for 3 days a week, I recommend you focus on ones that:
[a] Concurrently “recomp” you - get you stronger, leaner, and more muscular at the same time
[b] Improve your conditioning along the way
[c] Reduce the mental friction of finding the “perfect program”
I leave links to my best programs that will help you rest deeply in the description below.
At the end of the day, effective workouts are important.
But sleeping enough - 7 to 9 hours a night - is like the “cheat code” for the busy, overwhelmed , Modern Man to get results.
Stay Strong,
Geoff Neupert